Defending The Family

Through God’s mysterious design, it was in that family that the Son of God spent long years of a hidden life. It is therefore the prototype and example for all Christian families. It was unique in the world. Its life was passed in anonymity and silence in a little town in Palestine. It underwent trials of poverty, persecution and exile. It glorified God in an incomparably exalted and pure way. And it will not fail to help Christian families-indeed, all the families in the world-to be faithful to their day-to-day duties, to bear the cares and tribulations of life, to be open and generous to the needs of others, and to fulfill with joy the plan of God in their regard.

At a moment of history in which the family is the object of numerous forces that seek to destroy it or in some way to deform it, and aware that the well-being of society and her own good are intimately tied to the good of the family, the Church perceives in a more urgent and compelling way her mission of proclaiming to all people the plan of God for marriage and the family, ensuring their full vitality and human and Christian development, and thus contributing to the renewal of society and of the People of God.

Today the Church celebrates the feast of The Holy Family. We look at Jesus, Mary and Joseph as the model for all families. There is no doubt that there are many in today’s society who are seeking to destroy the concept of the family. One of the biggest threats is the attempt to redefine marriage under the guise of civil rights. My friends, don’t let anyone try to fool you into believing that you are being intolerant by having the opinion that marriage is between a man and a woman. That is the way that God designed it. A family does not consist of two mothers or two fathers. When God’s Son became flesh, He was placed in a family with one mother and one father. That was not an accident. That is part of God’s plan.

The above words of Pope John Paul II are even more meaningful now than they were in 1981. The threat of gay “marriage” is very real and we must not be bullied into keeping silent. By speaking out (and voting) against it, you are not being intolerant. Rather, you are preserving God’s plan for what a family should represent. As evidenced by the example of the Holy Family, marriage is between one man and one woman. Don’t let anyone fool you into believing otherwise!